Sunday, February 21, 2016

The Cop Talk…

Former IPS officer Neeraj Kumar states his book Dial D for Don is has been written for
the layman on a intuitive level. He speaks to Sapna Sarfare about his book – a collection
of 11 volatile CBI missions.

Who does not love a little bit of
excitement & thrill in one’s life? If you cannot create it, the least one
does is read a book which reeks of adventure. Neeraj Kumar, former joint
director of CBI and former commissioner of Delhi Police, has had a career replete
with people & incidents, which smell crime. Now, he has come out with a
tell-all memoir, which will be irresistible.

Dial D for Don, published by Penguin India, reveals Kumar’s
intimate account of 11 prestigious CBI missions, which are full of volatile
details, apart from showdowns with gangsters. This book by the now retired IPS
officer has accounts of his 37-year-old career. What you seen in his book are
also a peek into how the CBI works and cases such as the arrests & captures
of Abdul Latif – the don of Gujarat, terrorist Jagtar Singh Tara and Dawood
henchman Romesh Sharma.

Neeraj Kumar has been in
the midst of the most volatile cases. So, one assumes that whenever someone
with his background writes a book, it is bound to have explosive material. Soon
mayhem follows (accusations & revelations). Kumar is quite to dismiss such
labels. He states, “The fact that there have been no ‘accusations and mayhem’
as yet‎ shows that the book doesn’t have ‘explosive’ material. However, it has
to be said that I was careful about what I wrote to preclude possibilities of
controversies following the book’s release.” We take the honest cop to his
word.

Neeraj Kumar

A long career in the law &
enforcement department must have thrown up cases of varied proportions &
types. Each case will be full-fledged matter for independent book. A
compilation book like this one might not do full justice to them. Kumar, in a insightful
mood, feels that the only case worth the merit of being a full-fledged book
would be the chapter on the 1993 Mumbai Serial Blasts and Memons. “Since the
case was cracked by the Mumbai Police who did the initial investigations as
well, I chose not to write about it. Getting the Memon family back from Dubai
was my own work, and, therefore, I decided to write about it. It was more out
of a matter of choice than anything else that I decided to write about 11
different cases.” Any which way, the reader would be party to the mind behind
solving such cases.

Most of us are not Shakespeare.
When it comes to non-fiction, it is even tougher to do the balancing act of
writing well & putting the story right. One wonders of how hard or easy it
must have been for Kumar to write on experiences wherein he narrates real
incidences to a layman & hardcore crime non-fiction reader at the same
time. Kumar divulges to keeping things simple & straightforward. “Subconsciously,
I had the layman in mind. I had no idea what a crime nonfiction reader looks
for. I stuck to facts and knew that being real life stories they will interest
all.” In fact, he has not kept any reference for writing, in terms of other books
on similar topics.

Kumar, with his prolific
background, has gained many experiences. Now that he has retired as an impressive
super cop, he looks back his career as satisfying and wishing it could go on
forever, especially in terms of investigative work. “Without trying to sound
boastful, Neeraj Kumar is a good man and, therefore, made a good cop, trying
his best to help people in distress. He looked after his own men and sincerely
cared for them. His only shortcoming was that he was unsparing with the baddies
and rubbed many the wrong ways, often paying a price for taking the ‘big boys’
on.” Such a statement is expected from someone of his stature.

Amongst the many cases or
experiences, the one that has made Kumar look at things differently is where he
booked a corrupt civil servant. In his words, it haunts him until date. “The
accused has filed several litigations against me which I have to fight out on
my own. However, I have no regrets. Given a chance, I will do it all over
again.”

A writer is an avid reader too.
Kumar confesses to reading almost everything. “I am pretty eclectic in my
choice of books & genres. However, reading an account of something that
really happened interests me most. George Jonas's Vengeance about the Munich Olympic Massacre of 1972 & the
Mossad’s mission to avenge it and Andre Levy’ The Siege about 26/11 attack on Mumbai are two examples.”

With interest built up for Dial D for Don, one can expect certain
things from the book. Kumar states that the stories are straight from the heart
& truthful. “They are written in simple English and so are easy to read. If
you are looking for flowery English or highbrow prose, you should look
elsewhere.”

Neeraj Kumar led a professional
life as truthfully as the person he is. Expect all things upbeat from his debut
book Dial D for Don.